Archive for the ‘ world facts ’ Category

Roma hardcore

Before my current lead addiction I spend my days following my local hardcore punk community. This is true especially for the years 1988-1995. Before them I was a metal-head but of black and thrash fringe. As my most relevant activities of that period, I realised a couple of fanzines, was a regular writer for a magazine, and helped with a record label. Nowadays I still hear a lot of music: hardcore punk, oi!, black metal and power electronics. I was very involved with hardcore music. Well, it is more than music, it was my life, because hardcore is not a form of music but an aptitude. A young movement, but a strong one. You cannot understand it if you are used to mainstream music, it is a matter of live in a unconventional way hearing unconventional music. And “music” is not the right word, “noise” is better, because it is the sound of rage.

A couple of years ago, a young veteran of my local community (when I was around he was just an adolescent) thought to film a documentary on that world, realising various interviews with crucial people from Roma hardcore community of that years, with a focus on the 1989-1999 period. After a lot of time he edited the material and now it is a film.

I went to a modern art museum (!!!) to see this documentary, screened for two months during an art exhibition. It is weird to go to a museum to see a piece of your life! And it is an institutional art museum, as if my life and that of my mates were involved in some art project. I wasn’t interviewed but I hoped that some part of me or my work was present in the pit (the name of the place below the stage) among other faces. Nothing, I wasn’t there. Pity! I saw only some group photos that I took: I was the “official photographer” of the community, so I was always behind the objective! Those photos were in the official catalogue of the show too, obviously without my name. This is the sad way of the photographer…

This documentary is not for commerce. I didn’t repeat this nostalgia moment with another screening session. But I wish to buy a copy to search better my face among the crowd…

More informations about the film on the website www.rmhc-film.com.

Then a photographic book was edited about these years in the left fringe of the Roman skinhead community. This time I can find myself in the pit. But only by shoulder and a little of my face. However maybe it was the last live gig that I saw, a couple of years ago. Time flies.

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More boobs for BS

Young women protested against Silvio B., but maybe they could obtain only a Minister position from him. Almost 1 person on 3 people voted for Silvio. It is sad, it is Italy. 20 years of regime and still going…

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8 Settembre 1943

Today we remember a day of infamy for our Country, when our king and all our govern people fled from Rome towards the Allies in the south to save themselves, leaving Italy without a head during the war. They suddenly changed side in the war without thinking about the consequences, leaving the State and the Army without orders, causing the occupation of Germans and the civil war. They started the war without adequate preparation and later they claimed to accuse Mussolini for that as they weren’t part of that system too, rebuilding a virginity fighting together with our former enemies. Perpetual shame on them, parasites of society and thieves with blood-spattered hands!

Today I am in Rufina, near Florence, for a two days convention. I will speak about it in the next posts. Among other things we will try a WWII ruleset to play a game about angry Germans versus lost Italian regular Army.

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Playing cards: red star

I’m not a playing card collector, but I have just a couple of decks that a friend of mine gifted me. One of them is about Chinese posters, those strongly coloured images with propaganda scenes that years ago were very popular in China. Now maybe they are used only in North Korea. Their style is almost the same for all, a mix of comic art and realistic panting. I love these images, they are so naive even if their subjects are not so.

I choose some cards for you, reporting the scene in the brackets and under in italics the unintentionally funny legends. Left to right, obviously.

(Stalin and Mao, against the world, forgetting war between them)
Celebrating the longevity of the friendly alliance between China and the Soviet Union

(Haircuts with rifles)
The army and the people are all one family

(At school, ambushing among teaching post and desks)
Learning how to prepare for war

(Thoughts wearing military uniform)
Ruthlessly criticise the bourgeoisie

(Camouflage with leaves on a moving bike is a great weapon if used with a standing boy with a rifle on your back)
The red dawn lights up our parade ground

(The only good boy is a militarised one)
Be a good child of the Party

(Reading books is good for the apparitions of red ghosts)
Read revolutionary books, learn from revolutionaries and become an heir of the revolution

(People is red, the Mao’s red book is white)
Familiar with the life of workers, peasant and workers

(Bulling young geeks is good)
Don’t talk with him!

(Mockery and torture before a death sentence)
A bad element is publicly criticised

(Killed by a telephone pole is a great thing)
Learn from comrade Lei Feng

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Zen Garden is ready

I thought it was simpler to make. Now, after 4 months of work, Zen Garden is ready at last. I’m only waiting the pressing of the rules, but for this I have to wait Andrea. And you can buy it, even if I must calculate the price, because the sum of all materials do it not so cheap. Two editions. The red one (8 boxes) is without glued materials, the black one (22 boxes) has glued materials. Here is the red box number one. Limited editions of course.

Some materials ready to be put in the boxes: soldiers, measuring sticks, dices. In the other photo the black planks with drying glue.

Today (even yesterday in some part of the city at north) was the day with snow upon Rome. It is a rare event, but not so rare as before, because weather is changing. Now the snow is almost melted, but it is night so temperature is low again, but the sky is free of clouds, we had a sunny afternoon. We were waiting the snow since a week but our wonderful mayor Alemanno is like Schettino on Concordia, only unclear orders, no real countermeasures, to accuse others to save himself, and a policy over all:”save yourself if you can, it is snowing, it is the end of the world!”. Rome blocked by only 3.5 cm of snow…

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Father Christmas

I’m for an unconventional Christmas because I don’t like fake affectedness. I pass these days with my family since I was a child so I like this moment of the year but I can’t forget reality. The world is not a Christmas advertising!

I’m used to listen to hardcore punk and this attitude is part of me. So I remembered this Christmas song from the disgraceful land of samba by Garotos Podres, a seminal Brazilian oi! band from the eighties and maybe still active in these days even if the singer belly seems big as the Father Christmas one.

Do you know that Father Christmas was created by Coca Cola as a character for Christmas advertisings? They are not the colours of Christmas, they are the colours of Coca Cola! In this song is said that Father Christmas is a son of bitch, a capitalist pig. He send gift only to rich children. If you know Portuguese you would appreciate it more.

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Sic transit gloria bunga bunga

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Hobby show 2011

Do you remember my magic card for the fair of Rome? Even this time I went to a convention with free entry just for me. I was waiting for this event since last year because I never saw it and it is about bricolage, so I hope there were some interesting things for modelling and our little world of 3d wargame.

I made a mistake indeed. This is not a fair about “hobbies” but a fair about “women hobbies”. So you could find all about DIY necklaces, blankets, bags, decorations and all these sort of things. Last time I controlled I was a man, so all were a little boring. I looked for something for miniatures, but I couldn’t find something to buy. There were some things to watch, interesting techniques for decoration, paints with special properties, but I didn’t find them useful for me. The weird thing were decorations with a food appearance and food with a decoration appearance, so you didn’t know if some stuff were edible or not. There were even edible colours in a form of pen you can utilise to write on cakes.

The only thing that really struck me was a sculpt demonstration for fairies statuettes. She made its with the same production process of a miniature, adding a sort of green stuff (more like clay I think) on a skeleton made of soft iron wire. Great artistic work but for a wrong cause: fairies are for puffs, we want warriors instead!

I travelled with my sister to the fair, after two hours I left while she remained for other four hours. I took the train alone, but four ladies from other cities in the south of Italy were frightened by how to travel toward home so I escorted them for an hour. In the meantime, in another part of the city, someone was thanking our government for its work…

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